Glaus working on return as an outfielder

Cardinal's bum shoulder forcing him to rehab in left

Troy Glaus is playing left field -- not his customary third base -- for Triple-A Memphis as he tries to rehabilitate his injured right shoulder and rejoin the Cardinals. The idea is that left field would be less taxing on his arm.

"I'll throw it in. I'm not going to hand it to him," Glaus told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It's like a normal play.

"Am I going to pick up a ball and throw a guy out at the plate? Probably not. It's all about hitting a cut-off man. Am I going to come up and throw a strike 200 feet on a line? That's unlikely. But I can catch a ground ball, come up and hit a cut-off man. Most of the throws out there are on-balance. You can get yourself together and take a longer action, which is less painful."

Pudge turns to familiar walking sticks: Ivan Rodriguez, who hasn't been able to use the No. 7 in Houston because it's retired in honor of Craig Biggio, sported No. 77 on Monday night instead of the No. 12 he'd been wearing previously this season.

"That's my number," he told the Houston Chronicle. "I've used that number all my career. I respect I cannot wear No. 7 here because [Craig] Biggio retired the jersey. But it's always a good thing to have two sevens instead of one. You can see seven from the left and seven from the right. You don't have to turn too much. Just seven all over the place."

Rodriguez has worn No. 7 at Texas, Florida and Detroit but switched to No. 12 when he was traded to the Yankees last year because the club has retired No. 7 in honor of Mickey Mantle.

"I was just missing my number," Rodriguez said. "And pretty much all my career it's been No. 7, so I find it an interesting thing and create something big."

Prado's surge not going unnoticed: One of the main reasons for the Braves' offensive surge in July has been the insertion of Martin Prado into the lineup.

"Getting Prado in the two-hole, and dropping [Yunel] Escobar down where he can get some RBIs," manager Bobby Cox told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the difference from June to now. "Prado's been so hot and getting on base so much; it's made a world of difference."

Sanchez battles his way back: Gaby Sanchez is back with the Marlins after some early setbacks this season.

Given a chance to win a Major League job out of Spring Training, Sanchez instead got sent to the Minors. Then he tore his medial collateral ligament, an injury some feared might end his season, but he was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans and is ready to contribute for Florida.

"My mindset in April was to go down and have fun, play the game right and not think about what I need to do to get back here," Sanchez told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I knew that, if I went down and played the game the way I know how to play, eventually it was going to happen."

Downs up after promotion to Giants: The Giants recalled infielder Matt Downs on Tuesday with the idea of giving him an extended look at second base in his second stint with the team this season.

"He's been very consistent down there with his play, his bat," manager Bruce Bochy told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He hit a home run the other night and had three hits the game before that. We're going to see if we can get some offense down there [in the bottom of the lineup]."

Perez hitting his comfort zone: In his last three outings for the Indians, Chris Perez has struck out three batters and not allowed a runner in three innings.

"I'm pitching the way I should be pitching," Perez told MLB.com. "I've been getting ahead of hitters and making them more defensive, which helps."

Ruiz sees extra hitting work pay off: Carlos Ruiz's extra cuts during batting practice are paying off. The Phillies catcher, who has been focused on hitting to right field and being more selective, hit a home run and a double on Monday night.

"Definitely today I was here early and taking swings in the cage and extra swings on the field, and I feel good," Ruiz told MLB.com. "Not every time, but when you feel good at the plate, you can look for one pitch especially, and then you can hit."

Rain delay gives Lopez a chance to shine: Felipe Lopez, who missed his first flight to join the Brewers and didn't arrive in Pittsburgh until 6 p.m. on Monday, got to remain in the starting lineup anyway due to a rain delay.

Lopez had an outstanding debut with the Brewers, collecting four hits and a walk in five plate appearances.

Nieve heads to DL; Niese gets promotion: Fernando Nieve was diagnosed with a muscle tear in his right thigh that will keep him out three-to-six weeks.

Nieve, who suffered the injury on Sunday while trying to beat out a grounder back to the mound, will be replaced by Jon Niese, who is 5-0 with a 0.72 ERA in his last eight starts at Triple-A Buffalo. Niese will start for the Mets on Saturday against the Astros.

"Niese has had very good reports, and he is obviously considered a prospect," manager Jerry Manuel told Newsday. "We feel like the upside is quite good with him. That would be the guy, in my opinion."

Cruz remains out with broken finger: The Texas Rangers may be without Nelson Cruz for a few more days due to a fractured right ring finger. Cruz said the finger felt better on Monday compared to Sunday, but he was still not able to play.

"It bothers me," Cruz, who fractured it diving to first base on Saturday night, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "It's frustrating because the team needs me. I want to play, but I don't have any control over this stuff. You handle it the best way you can."

Kinsler gets book-end homers: Ian Kinsler on Sunday became only the fifth player to begin and end a game with a home run. His 12th-inning shot gave the Rangers a 5-3 win over the Twins.

"I knew it had a chance, and I was just hoping for a little gust of wind to get it over the fence," Kinsler told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of his game-winner.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Kinsler joins Reed Johnson for Toronto in 2003, Philadelphia's Billy Hamilton (1893), Kansas City's Vic Power (1957) and Anaheim's Darin Erstad (2000) as the only players to accomplish the feat.

Lannan induces grounders, chalks up win: John Lannan pitched a shutout on Tuesday to give Nats interim manager Jim Riggleman his first win. Lannan did not walk a batter and recorded 17 ground ball outs in Washington's 4-0 win.

"It was groundballs," Lannan told the Washington Post. "I got ahead of guys. I didn't walk anybody. That's what it takes for me to be successful. I mean, dominating? I don't know. I've never considered myself a dominating pitcher. I don't think the guys over there in the Mets clubhouse are like, 'Wow, that guy dominated me.' I just made good pitches down in the zone."

Aybar continues his productive month: Erick Aybar went 7-for-9 in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of the Royals, lifting his average to .490 in the month of July. The Angels shortstop had three hits, three runs scored and an RBI in the opener and four hits in the nightcap, including a double and a bases-clearing triple.

"He's a talented kid, and he's bringing that potential onto the field," manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times. "He's feeling more confident in the box and playing at a high level in the field, which is important to us."

Pettitte effective with cutter: Thanks to Jose Molina, Andy Pettitte brought back his cutter on Monday night and shut down the Baltimore Orioles.

"Jose [Molina] was like, 'I'm calling it.' That's what he told me: 'I'm gonna call it,'" Pettitte, who allowed one run on six hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings, told Newsday. "We kept throwing it, and, as the game went on, it just got better and better."